Who, me?

Plenty of blogs that tell you how to be perfectly frugal. Few, if any, address the fact that most of us are imperfect. That is, we’re human. My blog is about coping with the reality of our less-than-perfect lives.

Thanks to a rare neurological disease that nearly killed me at 19, I struggle with chronic fatigue and depression. Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter that my energy is extremely limited. The demands of daily living refuse to be put aside. So I have to compromise and/or sacrifice to stay alive and (relatively) sane.

But that’s not just an issue for people who are sick. Everyone has limitations, no matter what your health and income levels look like. Most of us have a near-infinite number of things we should do (or want to do), but an all-too-finite amount of time and energy.

In short, this blog is about accepting the fact that you’re not perfect. Every day we make mistakes or take shortcuts due to overcommitment, stress, health issues or simple exhaustion. That’s not a flaw or personal failing. It’s normal. It’s human.

The sooner we can accept this, the sooner we can find peace and balance in our lives.

My work has appeared on MSN Money, Wise Bread, Women & Co, Insurance.com, All You and Mary Hunt’s Everyday Cheapskate.

A bit of background on me:

I met my husband Tim when I had just gotten on Social Security Disability back in 2006. He had $20,000 in student loans and his own set of health problems. Those health problems caused a lot of medical bills, including $12,000 of oral surgery.

The medical issues got worse, and he ended up getting laid off a month before our May 2008 wedding.

He went on unemployment, so we were bringing in a total of $3,100 a month and had $700 rent and a $500 premium for high risk insurance. Plus a lot of specialist co-pays. Did I mention the co-pays? Still, we managed to keep paying down debt thanks to perseverance and a lot of help from my mom.

We decided to move down to Arizona where his health is better, and it has helped significantly. Unfortunately, he is still not able to work and has since gone on disability himself.

Happily, I lucked — and I do mean lucked — into a job that I can do from home. I have an amazing boss who is incredibly understanding and also overpays me. Not that I feel the need to tell him that.

Thanks to him — and plenty of hard work on our part — we were able to pay off the debt and even buy a house. Which is good because my in-laws were about to lose theirs, so guess who now lives in our guest house?